What did Pope Francis mean when he said the unborn and the poor are equally sacred?

Monday, April 23rd, 2018

When Pope Francis insisted that the lives of the unborn and of the poor are “equally sacred,” he was not trying to shift the focus of Catholics from fighting abortion to fighting poverty, he was trying to show they are part of the same battle, said Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

The life of the unborn must be “promoted and defended with great determination and given an effective priority,” the archbishop told Catholic News Service April 17.

“At the same time,” he said, “we must keep in mind that the dignity of every human being is equal and inviolable at every stage throughout his or her life.”

In “Rejoice and Be Glad,” his apostolic exhortation on holiness, Pope Francis wrote that living a Christian life involves the defense of both the unborn and the poor, and he criticized what he termed the “harmful ideological error” of thinking one’s own cause is the only important one.

“Our defense of the innocent unborn, for example, needs to be clear, firm and passionate, for at stake is the dignity of a human life, which is always sacred,”

Pope Francis wrote. “Equally sacred, however, are the lives of the poor, those already born, the destitute, the abandoned and the underprivileged, the vulnerable infirm and elderly exposed to covert euthanasia, the victims of human trafficking, new forms of slavery, and every form of rejection.”

Pope Francis’ words reminded many people of the “seamless garment” approach to life issues promoted by the late Cardinal Joseph L. Bernardin of Chicago.

While applauding its recognition of the sacredness of all human life, some people criticized the approach, saying it could give people a mistaken impression that, for example, the church teaches abortion and capital punishment are equally serious sins.

Others worried that some Catholics would claim their defense of life in one area meant that they did not have to pursue the protection of life in other areas.

“We must keep in mind that the dignity of every human being is equal and inviolable at every stage throughout his or her life.”

But “Pope Francis has reaffirmed that abortion is evil without mincing words,” Archbishop Paglia said. At the same time, he asks that “the pro-life commitment be enlarged.” Continue reading